Pitbulls Vicious Or Harmless

Pit bulls: Vicious or Harmless

An evaluation on dog bites and the euthanizing of pit bulls.

When I was looking on the computer for a nice-looking breed of dog to have for a pet, I immediately fell in love with the American Pit Bull Terrier. They are absolutely adorable. I went to pick up two puppies that same day. When I got there, I was a little hesitant to enter the house. There was about huge blue pit-bull who weighed about a hundred and twenty pounds staring right at me. They assured me that it was fine to come in and as soon as I did, the big blue ox jumped right up on my chest and started to lick me. That is when I knew I had to have one. They are intimidating to people who don't know much about them, but are loyal to their owners. I bought two of them and loved them to death. They were the perfect pets. They make excellent guard dogs and know who is supposed to be on your property and who is not. I think that the euthanization of pit bulls is wrong. If you are going to euthanize a pit bull for biting someone then you should have to euthanize a poodle if they bite someone.

It is proven fact that mixed breed dogs are more likely to bite than pure bred dogs

and of all pure bred dogs, German Shepherds and Chows are the most likely to be involved in a dog bite. Any dog, treated harshly or trained to attack, may bite a person. Any dog can be turned into a dangerous dog. The owner most often is responsible; not the breed, and not the dog. An irresponsible owner or dog handler might create a situation that places another person in danger by a dog, without the dog itself being dangerous, for example: leaving an infant alone with a dog. It is all in how you raise the dog to act and react to people. You could make a Labrador retriever bite and attack someone if that is what you wanted. It is not the breed of the dog that makes them aggressive or more prone to bite, it is the owner. Any individual dog may be a good, loving pet, even though its breed is considered to be likely to bite. A responsible owner can win the love and respect of a dog, no matter what its breed. One cannot look at an individual dog, recognize its breed, and then state whether or not it is going to attack.

Glen Bui, Vice President of the American Canine Foundation, using statistics on the American Pit Bull Terrier from the AKC, A.D.B.A. and UKC and for the other breeds, AKC/UK statistics, found that of the 240,000 Chows registered, twelve have been involved in dog bites which is .705%. Of the 800,000 German Shepherds registered, sixty-seven have been involved in dog bite which is .008375%. As for Pit Bulls, of the 5,000,000 registered, 60 have been involved in dog bites which is only .0012%. In 1995 of 22 dog bite fatalities, 9 were pit bull types; in 1996, of 35 fatalities, 3 were pit bull types; in 1997, of 30 fatalities, 6 were pit bull types; in 1998, of 15 fatalities, 5 were pit bull types; in 1999, of 42 fatalities, 8 were pit bull types. Some of these pit bull types

were roaming in packs, some were unsocialized, and in some a child was left unattended. A study in the U.K. found

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